Mucus, Cough, Gluten

[bike2work]

The past couple years I've had an extremely tough time getting rid of the post-cold cough. Two years ago it hung on for 8 months. Last year it stayed around for 6 months. I got it again two weeks ago and was dreading the fallout.

But I was browsing around here on LC topics and landed on a link to a research doc (which I can no longer find) which said something like, "gluten is strongly associated with excessive production of bronchial mucus." The words seemed to pulsate on the page. My jaw dropped. Bronchial mucus is exactly what's been making me miserable.

So the next day (April 1) I went gluten-free. Within 48 hours all the mucus and coughing had stopped. This is amazing to me. I was expecting six months of misery.

1) What effect does mucus have on the body? Coughing is obviously annoying, and I think it provides a medium for cold germs to live in. Anything else?

2) Does this imply gluten sensitivity or does everyone create mucus in response to gluten?

[Nancy LC]

For me it is dairy that does that. I eat dairy and I have ropes of mucus crawling down the back of my throat. It also goes with stuffy nose at night and sinus infections. My body's newest trick is that I seem to get hay fever symptoms when I have dairy too.

Gluten does other evil things to me, involving my brain and intestines.

Food sensitivities affect different people differently. Click on "The Gluten File" and read up.

[bike2work]

For me it is dairy that does that. I eat dairy and I have ropes of mucus crawling down the back of my throat. It also goes with stuffy nose at night and sinus infections. My body's newest trick is that I seem to get hay fever symptoms when I have dairy too.

:idea: Maybe all those gluten intolerant people really have a problem with casein.

[pennink]

dairy does that for a lot of people.

btw, have you had an echo and a lung xray? How's your bp?

[Nancy LC]

:idea: Maybe all those gluten intolerant people really have a problem with casein.
For some of us it is both. It usually isn't an either or sort of thing. You try excluding one thing see what happens, then you try the next. With excluding gluten I fixed some bowel issues and painful IBS. Dairy fixed the zits and mucus issues. I'd urge everyone to try giving up both for awhile, then reintroduce them, one at a time and see what happens.

Good point, Pennick. Chronic cough can indicate heart problems. My cat had that happen. His heart enlarged and actually was pressing against his esophagus which made it tickle or irritated. Poor old kitty, he eventually died. I'm sure the high carb diet I was feeding him caused it. Don't know how it works in humans but I think it can be a symptom. Get the ticker checked.

[bike2work]

btw, have you had an echo and a lung xray? How's your bp?
I haven't been to the doctor very recently. I was just about to go for the cough, but now that's stopped. (I am still astonished.) Do you think I should still pursue it?

[pennink]

I think you should.

I seriously don't want to scare you, but it was a constant cough that caused my doctor to look at my heart.

and yes, I did have heart failure (reversed now though on Atkins)